How Much Do Kitchen Cabinets Cost in 2026?
National ranges, cabinets + installation labor · Pricing data updated · Reviewed annually
New kitchen cabinets for the industry-standard 10×10 kitchen — about 20 linear feet of cabinets, installed — cost $2,500 to $5,500 in stock/RTA, $5,000 to $9,500 in semi-custom, and $11,000 to $21,000 in full custom. The construction tier is the biggest lever, driving 55–70% of the total. The full spectrum is wide — a small stock galley in a low-cost metro can start near $1,500, while a large custom kitchen with an island in a high-cost metro can exceed $56,500.
Four decisions set most of the price: which tier you choose, how many linear feet of cabinets you're hanging, the upgrades you add (island, frameless boxes, glass doors, crown), and where you live. The tables below break the national ranges down along each axis, and the interactive estimator lets you combine them — then hand off to the free kitchen cabinets calculator for a box-by-box takeoff. These are cabinets only — countertops, appliances, and the rest of the kitchen are priced separately.
Cabinet cost by tier (installed, per linear foot)
The starting point for any cabinet budget is the construction tier. These are the full published spreads you'll see quoted — materials plus installation labor — with the wide range inside each tier driven by finish and door style: thermofoil and laminate sit at the low end, painted MDF in the middle, and stained solid-hardwood doors at the top. Per-cabinet (box) pricing is shown alongside for partial swaps.
| Tier | Installed / LF | Base cabinet / box | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock / RTA | $90 – $400 | $250 – $700 | Pre-sized boxes off the shelf or ready-to-assemble |
| Semi-custom | $150 – $700 | $400 – $1000 | Stock boxes with size, finish & door options — the common pick |
| Full custom | $500 – $1250 | $700 – $1700 | Built to your exact spec, any size, species & finish |
Wall and tall/pantry boxes price differently from base cabinets — wall boxes run less, tall pantry boxes more. The estimator and project tables below use a calibrated typical band inside each published spread.
Cabinet cost by tier and kitchen size
Installed, national averages. Each cell is a low-to-high range; real projects cluster toward the middle. Size here is total cabinet run in linear feet — the 10×10 benchmark is the ~20-LF comparison package the whole industry prices against.
| Kitchen size | Stock / RTA | Semi-custom | Full custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small galley12 linear ft | $1,500 – $3,500 | $3,000 – $5,500 | $6,500 – $12,500 |
| 10×10 benchmark20 linear ft | $2,500 – $5,500 | $5,000 – $9,500 | $11,000 – $21,000 |
| L-shaped25 linear ft | $3,500 – $7,000 | $6,500 – $12,000 | $14,000 – $26,500 |
| Large + island40 linear ft | $5,000 – $11,000 | $10,000 – $19,000 | $22,500 – $42,000 |
Estimate your cabinet project
Combine tier, kitchen size, region, and the real-world upgrades to see your range update live. Each upgrade shows what it adds before you commit — stacking a lot of them pushes you toward the top of the range, so treat combined upgrades with caution.
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What the common upgrades cost
Priced against a typical project — a semi-custom 10×10 package at the national average. On a bigger kitchen or a higher tier, each adds proportionally more.
| Upgrade | What's involved | Adds |
|---|---|---|
| Add an island | A separate cabinet run needs finished end/back panels and its own leveling | +$1,000 – $4,000 |
| Frameless (full-overlay) | European full-access construction runs ~10–15% over framed | +$500 – $1,500 |
| Soft-close & drawer banks | Soft-close glides/hinges plus drawer bases (pricier than door bases) | +$500 – $1,500 |
| Ceiling-height / stacked uppers | Stacked wall cabinets add boxes plus lift & alignment labor | +$500 – $1,500 |
| Glass / display doors | Glass inserts add roughly $100–$300 per affected door | +$500 – $1,000 |
| Crown + light-rail trim | Decorative trim package adds material and skilled miter labor | +$500 – $1,000 |
| Demo & haul old cabinets | Remove and dispose of existing cabinets (~$350–$1,000) | +$500 – $1,500 |
| Disconnect / reconnect sink & appliances | Pull and reset the sink, dishwasher, and range around the install | +$500 – $1,000 |
| Premium pulls & hinges | Upgraded hardware across 28–42 points ($2–$50 per piece) | +$0 – $1,000 |
Cost by region
Installation labor is 30–50% of a cabinet job, so local rates move the whole number. The same semi-custom 10×10 package:
| Region | Typical metros | Semi-custom 10×10 |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-cost metro | Much of the South, Midwest, Mountain West | $4,500 – $8,000 |
| National average | Most metros | $5,000 – $9,500 |
| High-cost metro | Coastal CA, NYC, Boston, Seattle, DC | $7,000 – $13,000 |
Cheaper than new: refacing and repainting
If your cabinet boxes are structurally sound and the layout works, two alternatives beat full replacement. Refacing puts new doors, drawer fronts, and a matching veneer skin on the existing boxes. Repainting is the cheapest refresh of all when the doors themselves are in good shape.
| Option | Per linear foot | Per door | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reface | $100 – $450 | $125 – $450 | Typically 30–50% less than replacement; lasts 10–20 years. |
| Repaint (professional) | $30 – $70 | $75 – $250 | The cheapest refresh; professionally painted cabinets last ~8–15 years. |
A full professional repaint of a typical kitchen runs about $2,000–$6,500. Skip both if boxes are water-damaged or sagging, hardware and glides are failing, or you want a new layout or more storage — at that point new cabinets are the better spend.
How to keep the cost down
Match the tier to how long you'll own the home. Semi-custom is the value sweet spot for most kitchens; jumping to full custom pays off mainly for unusual layouts, non-standard sizes, or a long ownership horizon. Buying more cabinet than your timeline rewards is the most common over-spend.
Supply your own cabinets and pay labor-only. Installation is 30–50% of the total. Buying stock or RTA boxes yourself and hiring an installer at $50–$250/LF can trim the total — just budget the RTA assembly time for flat-pack lines.
Reface or repaint sound boxes. If the layout stays put and the boxes are solid, refacing saves 30–50% and repainting saves even more. The most expensive kitchen is the one you gut when you didn't need to.
Get the linear footage right before you call for bids. Over-measuring inflates every quote. The kitchen cabinets calculator gives you a defensible box count and linear-foot figure to check bids against.
What these ranges don't include
National ranges, cabinet materials + installation labor combined. Cabinets ONLY — excludes countertops (templated and installed separately after cabinets are set), appliances, sinks/faucets, backsplash, flooring, lighting, electrical/plumbing relocation, wall repair/paint, permits, design fees, delivery, and sales tax.
- Countertops — templated and installed after cabinets by a separate trade; price them with the countertop calculator (~2.5× your cabinet LF in square feet).
- Appliances, sinks & faucets — bought and installed separately.
- Backsplash, flooring & lighting — adjacent trades, each quoted on its own.
- Electrical / plumbing relocation — moving outlets, circuits, or supply lines.
- Permits, design fees, delivery & sales tax — vary by jurisdiction and vendor.
Tariff watch. A 25% Section 232 tariff on imported cabinets and vanities took effect Oct 14, 2025 and remains in force in 2026; a scheduled increase to 50% is delayed to Jan 1, 2027. Import-heavy stock/RTA lines carry the most exposure; U.S.-made cabinets are comparatively insulated.
Where these numbers come from
Ranges reconcile national published data — Angi, Forbes Home, Fixr, and HomeGuide/HomeAdvisor installed $/LF by tier, KCMA construction-tier cost share, Homewyse per-cabinet install medians, and actual retail box pricing from IKEA SEKTION, Home Depot Hampton Bay, Lowe's Diamond NOW, Cabinets To Go, and CliqStudios — bracketed by roughly ±30–35% to absorb regional, supply-chain, and finish variability. The calibrated per-LF band reproduces the industry 10×10 benchmark package exactly. Where sources disagreed by more than 40% — handyman box rates versus fully-modeled aggregator rates — we widened the triplet to span both rather than pick a side. Every figure is rounded to the nearest $500 on purpose: a national estimate quoted to the dollar is false precision. The model is reviewed annually; this page was last computed from data updated . For your own project, the only numbers that matter more than these are the ones in a written bid from a licensed local contractor — get at least three.
Ready to price the actual cabinets?
The free kitchen cabinets calculator goes past ranges: enter your wall runs and it returns a base/wall/tall box count, linear footage, and filler and toe-kick allowances — a takeoff you can save, share, or hand to an installer. No signup.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much do kitchen cabinets cost for a 10×10 kitchen in 2026?
The "10×10 kitchen" (about 20 linear feet, ~11–13 cabinets) is the industry's standard comparison package. Installed, it runs $2,500 to $5,500 in stock or ready-to-assemble cabinets, $5,000 to $9,500 in semi-custom, and $11,000 to $21,000 in full custom — cabinets and installation labor included. It is a pricing template for comparing styles across vendors, not a literal room. Price your own run with the free kitchen cabinets calculator.
What is the difference between stock, semi-custom, and custom cabinets?
Stock (and RTA) cabinets come in fixed sizes off the shelf — the fastest and cheapest at roughly $90–$400/linear foot installed. Semi-custom starts from stock boxes but lets you choose sizes, finishes, and door styles, at about $150–$700/LF — it's the most common choice. Full custom is built to your exact spec in any size, species, and finish, from $500 to $1250+/LF. The tier drives 55–70% of total cabinet cost.
How much does it cost to install kitchen cabinets if I buy them myself?
Labor-only cabinet installation runs about $50–$250/linear foot, or roughly $100–$700 per cabinet — installers typically charge $40–$100/hour. If you buy flat-pack (RTA) cabinets, add about $30–$150 per box to assemble them before hanging. Labor is 30–50% of an installed cabinet project, so supplying your own boxes and paying labor-only can meaningfully cut the total.
Is refacing or repainting cheaper than new cabinets?
Yes — both are credible alternatives when your boxes are structurally sound and the layout stays put. Refacing (new doors and drawer fronts plus a veneer skin on the existing boxes) runs about $100–$450/LF and saves 30–50% versus replacement. Repainting existing cabinets professionally is the cheapest refresh — roughly $2,000–$6,500 for a typical kitchen. Neither makes sense if the boxes are water-damaged or you need a new layout.
What does adding an island do to the price?
An island is a separate cabinet run that needs finished end and back panels plus its own leveling, so it adds meaningfully to a cabinet package. On the default semi-custom 10×10 estimate it adds about $1,000–$4,000. A larger kitchen with an island (about 40 LF total) commonly runs $10,000 to $19,000 in semi-custom versus $3,000 to $5,500 for a compact 12-LF galley.
Do these prices include countertops?
No — cabinet quotes almost always exclude countertops, and so do these ranges. Counters are templated after the cabinets are set and leveled, fabricated and installed by a different trade, and priced by the square foot of surface rather than by cabinet linear foot. In a full kitchen budget, cabinets are the largest single line (~30%) and countertops about 11%. A rough conversion: multiply your cabinet LF by 2.5 for approximate countertop square footage, then price it with the countertop calculator.
Are cabinet prices going up because of tariffs?
A 25% Section 232 tariff on imported cabinets and vanities took effect Oct 14, 2025 and remains in force in 2026; a scheduled increase to 50% is delayed to Jan 1, 2027. Import-heavy stock/RTA lines carry the most exposure; U.S.-made cabinets are comparatively insulated. That is one reason 2026 cabinet quotes — especially on imported stock and RTA lines — are running higher than prior years. The ranges on this page reflect the 25% rate currently in effect.
Do these ranges include labor?
Yes — every range on this page combines cabinet materials and installation labor, reconciled from national industry sources. National ranges, cabinet materials + installation labor combined. Cabinets ONLY — excludes countertops (templated and installed separately after cabinets are set), appliances, sinks/faucets, backsplash, flooring, lighting, electrical/plumbing relocation, wall repair/paint, permits, design fees, delivery, and sales tax. For a box-by-box cabinet takeoff you can hand to an installer, run the free kitchen cabinets calculator.